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otter.onl
Otter
@otter.onl
Writer/illustrator/photographer; former newspaper comic strip creator. Large mixed Native 🪶/🇮🇪 Irish family—Dad to a bunch of boys enjoying the outdoors on our remote nature preserve/camp property in the northern Canadian wilderness.
The crash. This seems to be the main reason my boys go sledding. I hope it wears off by the time they reach driving age.

#crash #sledding #tobogganing #otterkids
January 11, 2026 at 11:41 PM
Autumn walk with some of the boys on one of the trails on the property. On warm fall days the air is filled with the heavy sweet scent of goldenrod and aster, and a constant hum of bees.

#nature #wildflowers #trail #outdoorkids #kidsoutdoors #otterkids #eastcoastkin
January 11, 2026 at 10:21 PM
I was surprised to see that chickadees can cling to slippery icicles, but then I guess they are virtually weightless so it's not quite the same as when I try to cling to icicles like this.

#chickadee #icicle #bird #birdphotography #birding #eastcoastkin
January 11, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Deer try to keep out of the deepest snow so when they encounter a plowed driveway or shovelled path they'll often follow it, even if it only leads to our front door. We don't get many visitors out here so it's fun when those randoms show up on the doorstep.

#wildlife #deer #nature #eastcoastkin
January 11, 2026 at 6:20 PM
I hope the #caturday police won't notice the counterfeit I'm trying to pass here but I like to live dangerously so here it is. A church roof that looks like a cat's head from this angle. Same church as in the 1959 Chevy truck post shared on Jan 2.

#photography #eastcoastkin
January 11, 2026 at 12:49 AM
One of my little goalies caught way out of position but managed to make the save.

#sportsphotography #sports #hockey #icehockey #goalie #otterkids
January 10, 2026 at 10:41 PM
Our cat having a comfortable nap in his bed after being out in the snow this morning.

#caturday #cat
January 10, 2026 at 8:56 PM
Fox napping in snow at the edge of our pond. I was a bit concerned as it was extremely cold, sub-zero, and he slept like this for hours, but he was fine. As soon as the sun left that spot he moved on. Still returns regularly to our fields.

#wildlife #nature #fox #eastcoastkin #wildlifephotography 🌿
January 9, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Boys climbing the toboggan hill trying to squeeze a few more rides in before dark. For the little guys a climb like this seems like mountaineering - the theme of the watercolor painting in my previous post.

#sledding #sunset #tobogganing #snowplay #outdoorkids #kidsoutdoors #otterkids
January 8, 2026 at 11:25 PM
An old watercolour illustration I did, depicting the struggle we imagined in trying to get our sled to the top of a "mountain". Now my boys see their climbing expeditions on the sledding hills the same way.

#illustration #painting #art #artwork #watercolor #watercolour #kidlitart #sledding
January 8, 2026 at 10:04 PM
When the winter sky looks like this we know snow squalls are near. It is interesting when they blow in to give us such sudden heavy snows all while the sun is still shining.

#stormysky #landscape #landscapephotography #trees #forest
January 8, 2026 at 8:10 PM
When my boys aren't playing hockey I can find them on the toboggan hill. They love sledding and will play on the hills as long as they have snow, which usually lasts here into April.

#sledding #tobogganing #winter #snow #winterfun #snowplay #kidsoutdoors #outdoorkids #otterkids
January 8, 2026 at 6:51 PM
Red barn in the snow.

Not bad here today, compared to coldest spot in Canada - Little Chicago NT: -47.2 °C/-52.96°F. Not surprisingly its population is 0. Is surprising that temp readings are gathered anyway.

#barn #redbarn #winter #snow #rural #farm #farmlife #country #photography #eastcoastkin
January 8, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Frozen waterfall - formed by a spring that supplies a trickle of water year round.

Quick noob question on Starter Packs - yay or nay? Some say they're good for getting started here - others say they had accounts locked/flagged as spam for using it. 🤷‍♂️

#ice #frozen #photography #winter #eastcoastkin
January 7, 2026 at 9:06 PM
One of my little goalies in his favourite place to be during winter.

#sportsphotography #sports #hockey #icehockey #goalie #otterkids
January 7, 2026 at 7:08 PM
When there is this much snow on the driveway only the deer can use it.

#wildlife #nature #deer #snow #winter 🌿
January 7, 2026 at 5:22 PM
All winter the grandmothers and aunties pour their creativity, craftsmanship and attention to detail into making regalia for the boys to use at summer pow wows. Impressive artists they are.

#native #nativeamerican #indigenous #firstnations #powwow #saulteaux #cree #Cowessess #otterkids
January 7, 2026 at 3:27 PM
My cat looking out the window at the final boss mouse, trying to decide if she's levelled up enough to have a go at it.

#cat #caturday #deer #whitetaileddeer #nature #wildlife
January 6, 2026 at 7:26 PM
In the grip of the icy hand of winter.

#icicle #icicles #ice #winter #nature #photography #eastcoastkin
January 6, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Snow on bullrushes growing in our backyard pond. Rows of rushes often remind me of sheet music and if I could ever read it I might know the song the rushes are playing.

#nature #snow #winter #pond #eastcoastkin #photography
January 6, 2026 at 4:23 PM
An alert healthy fox hunting for mice under the snow in our field.

#nature #wildlife #fox #eastcoastkin
January 5, 2026 at 9:38 PM
One of my boys, acted injured at the breakfast table because his brother tossed an English muffin at him, then in the afternoon is eager to get in the way of pucks blasted at him. To be fair it was a toasted muffin.

#sportsphotography #actionphoto #sports #hockey #icehockey #goalie #otterkids
January 5, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Soft rime frost on branches. Soft rime forms with extreme cold, high humidity and minimal breeze. Winters here provide those ingredients but rarely all at once for the soft rime recipe to work. When it happens it's a beautiful sight.

#photography #winter #nature 🌿 #frost #eastcoastkin
January 5, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Winter is usually harsh and grey here, angrily overpowering all with its ferocity, but sometimes it surprises by greeting us in the morning with a delicate lacy frost, total calm and a clear blue sky.

#landscape #landscapephotography #photography #winter #snowscape #snow #frost #eastcoastkin
January 4, 2026 at 9:32 PM
A story illustration I did years ago - Sharing tonight to mark the Wolf Moon, first full moon of the year and this one a super moon. Hope you have clear skies to see it.

#illustration #painting #kidlitart #watercolor #watercolour #gouache #otterkids #artwork #moon #supermoon #wolfmoon #fullmoon
January 3, 2026 at 10:43 PM